I love Tillys work. His wagons are the highlight!
this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
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Where can I see his work? Any chance his rides show up in the Ruhr area, like Dusseldorf or something?
Edit: Oh, I should read better. He's from Dusseldorf, the article says :). I'll check see if I can check it out next year.
For now [this article] has pictures of 14 of his 2025 floats (including the one from The Times.
Ah this is the guy who did this great carnival sculptures? Now, I remember, Very cool indeed!.
Aww, poor Russian snowflakes can't take criticism of militarism!
I'm confused, how will this accomplish anything if he's in Germany? Is this just an intimidation tactic? Or do they think they can successfully drag him to Russia?
Yeah, I guess this is just political theater or some sort of intimidation. This month, Russia also issued an arrest warrant for ICC judges. I am not a legal expert, but has probably no real consequence as long as you don't travel to Russia.
Hitler - Stalin 2.0
Totally incomprehensible gibberish. Is Trump Hitler or Stalin? Do details just not matter anymore? Is ignorance of history an excuse to misappropriate it and distort its relevance?
Otherwise nice work. Ive known other carnival artists and they're extremely talented and prolific, though maybe not the most politically coherent
It says Hitler-Stalin-Pakt 2.0
This is the (German) name of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, or to be more precise, the additional protocol specifying the partition of Poland.
Sure I get the reference. Do you think it is a reference to the proposed peace plan for Ukraine that cedes areas occupied by Russia to the Russians? So that Ukraine is Poland in this example? Specifically what is the connection to Molotov-Ribbentrop? I'm against confusing these complex issues more than they already are.
Trump creates chaos in political discourse by confusing people using false comparisons. I dont think doing the same dance with a different outfit actually changes anything, inaccuracy in abstraction leads to authoritarianism, full stop. Being inaccurate against the guys we dont like is not progress, it is stuck in the mud of the past. Political art should educate and stimulate real reflection on the part of the viewer. If it confuses an issue I dont think its art, I think its propaganda. Personally, I am not for propaganda, even if it is for causes I believe in and work toward. And different people have different views toward that, lots of people I work with consider themselves "propagandists," clinging to the word Lenin used in the early 1900's. I'm not even against Lenin's definition of the word, since Bolshevik demands were reflective of actual political conditions, and Lenin was explicit on how and why Bolshevik messaging was composed and to whom it was directed. It wasn't propaganda like we think of it now.
But now, after decades of developed critical theory and reflection of the 20th century i think we have to have a higher standard. Naming two contemporary villains after two historic villains (that people dont understand anyway) isnt educating, it is confusing. It is agitating but where does that agitation lead? If it changes nothing then it means nothing.
It's satire. Satire is meant to be hyperbolic. No comparison of current events with past events can ever be fully accurate.
The message is fairly straightforward. Trump's peace negotations with Putin are exclusively for splitting Ukraine up between the US and Russia. Not necessarily in the sense of occupation (for the US parts) but in terms of exploiting Ukraine's resources for the sole benefit of Russia and the US. That's it.
The connection is two powerful countries splitting up a third one to its detriment. What other well-known historic German event could this be compared with except Molotov-Ribbentrop?
no comparison of current events with past events can be fully accurate
Right, but I criticize on the basis that its not clear what abstraction is even being used to make the comparison. A common method of propaganda that confuses is comparing two things but not establishing a basis for the comparison. It is an empty signifier, to be filled with whatever political meaning one chooses.
I see it all the time, among political allies and opponents. I've never seen it deliver a greater degree of understanding or engagement. I think we use abstraction unconsciously so much, so seamlessly in our conception of meaning, that we can't tell if an abstraction is faulty or valid. Our brains just go "sure seems right" and we go along with it, but dont consider in what ways the abstraction is faulty or valid. Art has a way of revealing hidden connections or meanings, propaganda has a way of obscuring.
I appreciate other posters helping me to recognize the connection between Poland in Molotov-Ribbentrop and Ukraine in our current day. But I still dont see the connection being made here and I dont like obscurative or vibe-based political messaging.
Any artist knows that you can't just depict a feminine form and call it art. There is like 10000 years of history in that depiction, and it is taken very seriously, referenced very carefully. Why can't a similar level of care be taken when considering a political subject? I think I might be a little obstinate on this point, but I'm really just trying to engage with the subject from my own perspective
Did your eyes totally glaze over the obviously non-English word "Pakt" in the middle of that quote? 😂😂
What is the modern "pakt" between Trump and Putin that this refers to? In what ways does this supposed pact differ from the historic one? How are they similar?
So yes, you missed the clue that might've led to you googling and finding that it refers to the Molotov Ribbentrop, and are now being very defensive 😂 Merry Christmas bud ✌️
Okay, i have adhd and often miss things. You got me. Now can you answer my question? I dont mean to be defensive and I want to be educated.
Judging by your other answer to the other commenter, which is pretty in depth and shows that you definitely have a clear understanding of what this illustrates and which outlines specific issues you have with this piece of art, I'd say I'm probably not gonna be able to teach you much of anything if that's what you're even looking for mate.
To my mind, there's probably not one specific meeting or moment that this piece is analogising as the modern Trump/Putin version of the Molotov-Ribbentrop, but the continued "peace talks" wherein Trump and Putin seem to collaborate to sell Ukraine down the river.
As I don't believe there's a "modern" pact, I can't answer your second question or third question directly, but can say that there were various territories which seemingly had agency removed from them in the aftermath of the historical MR pact, like Poland, being invaded by Germany and USSR.
I think that dovetails a little with how it feels Ukraine is being treated at the moment by Trump and Putin.
I think there's certainly enough here to warrant this metaphor working, even if it's not a direct 1:1 mapping.
I honestly hadn't first considered the Ukraine similarity when I wrote the first comment. That tracks tbh. I'm probably reacting to how much confusion there is generally about the Nazis and the USSR, where most people don't have their own developed views but have appropriated some posture through hegemony, which has its own biases and incentives to confuse understanding. I also didn't see i was posting in a Euro comm or i would have probably stopped myself.
Tbh the Ukraine similarities track, but the issues around that war are very confused as well. In general, I'd say people dont understand how western forces destabilized and used Ukraine to agitate Putin into invasion and war, likely to draw them into a protracted , draining, no-win conflict like Viet Nam. Then people who are aware of that tend to think of Ukraine as US imperialist puppets, and end up buying much of the Russian framing of the issues. Germany was more than happy to keep burning Russian natural gas before the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up, although I think its probably disingenuous to flatten this artist's protest message into the geopolitical maneuvering of German establishment.
I guess I would prefer something more explicit toward acknowledging the incredible hardship this war has created in a country that has known nothing but hardship and exploitation, if that is the intention of the work. By my account, taking all of that and framing it as Trump+Putin=Stalin+Hitler (seriously who is Hitler and who is Stalin in this formula) misses the mark, but I appreciate the challenge and engagement.
I think we're talking interpretation and opinion here, and without digesting much of what you're saying I wouldn't be doing your time justice by responding to much of what you're saying.
However, I want to pick up on this, which you've picked up on at least twice in these comments:
seriously who is Hitler and who is Stalin in this formula
I think the artist of this piece was referencing either this photo:
Or this photo:
So, if this was a direct 1:1 mapping of leaders (which I'm not convinced it is), it would follow that Putin is Stalin, and Trump is Hitler.
I guess it depends which side of the float you are standing on, like is the writing only on one side, or both? But digging into the comparison is interesting because both leaders are Hitler/Stalin in their own ways.
Oh, duh lol I didn't even think of that. Yeah, it's double-sided, with writing on both sides, so it's probably not a 1:1 mapping.